The study included 4,475 Irish adults aged 50 and older. The researchers sought to determine whether the speed of HRR after an orthostatic maneuver predicts mortality.

The team found that those with the slowest HRR were more likely to die over an average follow-up of 4.3 years, compared to those with the fastest HRR. Those with the slowest HRR were 2.3 times more likely to die during the study period versus those in the fastest recovery quartile.

“Speed of orthostatic HRR predicts mortality and may aid clinical decision making,” the authors write. “Attenuated orthostatic HRR may reflect dysregulation of the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system.”